Instead, I make arbitrary lists like what you're about to read [or about to decide to not read].
SOME FAVORITE 07 MOMENTS
:: Finding out Holly's pregnant @ my favorite SLC record store.
:: Seeing the boy [if you are Holly's friends, that would be the fetus prematurely referred to as "Leo"] kick his legs in the ultrasound.
:: Touring, playing shows with my friends The Madison Arm, as well as Atherton, Libbie Linton, Trevor Price, Peter Breinholt, and The Indio Bait. Shows at Sundance, Hotel Cafe in L.A. and Soho in Santa Barbara were highlights.
:: Opening shows for Great Lake Swimmers, Laura Gibson, Gary Jules & Jim Bianco. Laura and Jim, in particular, were as nice as you could hope.
:: Visiting my parents in Manchester and Holly's friends in the Netherlands.
:: The Wilco Disc Golf Tour. More disc golf than you can shake those hippie juggling sticks at. And Wilco.
:: The Bob Dylan Tribute Show. One of the best nights of music I've ever been a part of.
:: San Francisco. Bridge School. Veggie burrito.
:: Thanksgiving in the Tetons.
:: Pretending to be a tennis player. My McEnroe impression is probably a little too committed.
:: Low in Amsterdam. Easily one of the best concerts I've ever seen– the perfect collision of venue, time, night, band, etc. Having escaped a Soccer Hooligan Riot with our lives also might have endowed the show with a little extra gravitas.
:: Spending time in Montana.
:: Making big progress on my record.
:: Christmas in Flagstaff, being the 03 Pacers at NBA Jam and sticking it [well, not really] to my nephew Parley and his 03 Lakers. Parley, by the way, is six years old.
Now, if you're Holly's friends, I'm about to talk about my favorite records of the year, and will not be offended in the least if you check out now, and hop on over to more kid-infested blogs with their pictures of first haircuts, messy faces, cute kittens, and the like...though you should know that many of these records are also Holly-endorsed favorites.
Wilco: Sky Blue Sky
Call it what you will: dad rock, neo prog, AAA, VW sell-outs. But these songs feel as good today as the day I bought them. Impossible Germany, an 07 favorite, has all the elements of a great Wilco song: a good groove, interesting lyrics, a great melody, and– in the newest Wilco incarnation– a few murderous moments at the hands of Nels Cline. This album is a pretty obvious choice, given my historical salivary disorder when it comes to all things Tweedy.
The National: Boxer
Official Creeper of the Year. It seemed like everyone- from friends to blogs and back- pushed this record on me early in the year. I resisted. But, after hearing Fake Empire on a mixtape [Sorry, they're still mixtapes, I don't care what the format is. You could put a bunch of songs on a playback-enabled watermelon, and I'd still call it a mixtape] from George, I had to check it out. And it, like every great album I've learned to love, just kept digging deeper grooves into my ears. I also have a huge softspot for this record because of the difficulty each and every song gave them, and how the overcoming yielded such a great record. "Tired and wired, we ruin too easy." Sheesh.
Feist: The Reminder
Before Apple made us wonder if 1-2-3-4 was a good song, it was arguably the best song of the year. Almost perfect [while the lyrics are nice pop, they aren't exactly making a Pulitzer push]. Might as well have been stuck in the CD player.
Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Even without the Jon Brion-produced song [as automatic and money as passing GO in Monopoly], a fantastic record. Spirit and grit, melody and soul, rhythm and swagger. Spoon's concise and economical approach is a great cause of envy for me.
Great Lake Swimmers: Ongiara
Hushed and gorgeous. Fittingly recorded in an old church. The pedal steel and Sarah Harmer's harmonies on I Became Awake tear me up every time.
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Raising Sand
I was admittedly skeptical at first (having a severe anti-late-career-duets album bias), but was won over. And over and over. Top to bottom, it's inspired: from the song choices (mostly older covers with some Tom Waits and a Plant original mixed in), to the T-Bone Burnett production, the players (my favorite drummer for starters), and the singing. Plant doesn't try to get the led out, but brings a rich voice to the proceedings, complemented perfectly by Krauss. "Somebody said they saw me swinging the world by the tail."
The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
If The Last Temptation of Adam isn't the 07 Song that I wish I'd written, then Rumors just might be.
Atherton: Skyline Motel
Really. At this point, I have probably overspoken to all of you about this record, cracking my credibility. But it has affected and continues to affect me in profound ways. The reviews say a lot about Ryan Adams, but- if you listen to the writing- I think you'll hear a lot more Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, and The Boss. From the writing to the playing, this is collection makes a strong case for the album in an mp3-pushing world. Yes, I did sing a bit on it, but only because I loved it so much.
Joe Henry: Civilians
My friend Brian Hardy made some smart comments about this record that echo my feelings over at athertonmusic.com. How does Joe Henry make everything so smart and so cool seem so simple? This album almost singlehandedly put me out of business. "God may be kind and treat you like a son, but time is a lion and you are a lamb." Take that.
Band Of Annuals: Let Me Live
The second "local" record on the list, both of which ought to be quickly relieved of the stupid, unnecessary "local" tag. They are great, yearning, heartfelt, must-own records by any criteria. The singing by Jay Henderson and Jeremi Hanson on this album, especially, kills me.
Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
It's biggest downfall was that it wasn't Funeral. Which could be said of every other album on this list.
The Swell Season: Once soundtrack
If you haven't seen the movie, go rent it now. The script overemploys the 6th letter of the alphabet, but the music and story are divine.
Teddy Thompson: Up Front & Down Low
A collection of old country standards [and one TT original] that should have snagged a Grammy nomination for best country record, but I guess the competition was stiff. And you wouldn't want an album like this to hog the space you need for Carrie Underwood, Sugarland, and Big & Rich.
Some other records that really got into my ears:
Radiohead: In Rainbows
Dominic & Colin Moore: This Is (the Demo Bootleg Version Of) The Ninja Vs. The Octopus Man [this would be ranked higher if the CD would've worked in my car]
Low: Drums and Guns
Iron & Wine: The Shepherd's Dog
Sarah Sample: Never Close Enough [Sarah won the Folks Fest Songwriter Competition this year, avenging my wrongful 6th place a couple years ago...]
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton: Knives Don't Have Your Back
and 2 late surgers
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Baby 81
New Pornographers: Challenger
YEAR NONSPECIFIC EARWIGS
Pavement: Terror Twilight, Brighten The Corners [Thanks, Phillips.]
The Byrds: Sweetheart of the Rodeo
The Hold Steady: Boys And Girls America
Neutral Milk Hotel: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea [Bought it years ago. "Got" it this year. Sometimes that happens.]
Laura Gibson: If You Should Come To Greet Me
Regina Spektor: Begin To Hope
Marcus Bently & The Beat Surrender: 1
Bob Dylan in general, but doing a Dylan tribute show will do that to you.
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